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Former Bank Mandiri Officials
Arrested Amid Corruption Probe

JAKARTA -- Indonesian police have arrested the sacked chief executive officer of PT Bank Mandiri, the country's largest lender, and two former top officials of the bank as part of a corruption probe.

Suhandoyo, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, told reporters that the three men were arrested late Tuesday after they were questioned for 12 hours. He said the three would soon face charges under anticorruption laws, though he didn't say when the charges would be filed.

The attorney general's office launched the investigation into the bank last month after a State Audit Agency review of its financial reports revealed "28 irregularities" in loans valued at more than one trillion rupiah, or roughly $100 million. The loans were extended to four Indonesian companies.

Among the men arrested was E.C.W. Neloe, who until Monday was president of Bank Mandiri. The other two were I Wayan Pugeg, former deputy chief of Mandiri, and M. Sholeh Tasripan, its former director of corporate banking.

A lawyer for the three has said the men don't believe they violated banking procedures and laws.

Bank Mandiri, which is traded on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, is 70%-owned by the Indonesian government.

At a regularly scheduled meeting of Bank Mandiri shareholders Monday, the three men were removed from their posts. Agus Martowardojo, president of PT Bank Permata, was named to succeed Mr. Neloe as president of Bank Mandiri, which had assets of 248 trillion rupiah at the end of 2004.

Mr. Suhandoyo said the three arrested men "are suspected of conducting wrongdoing in the extension of credit from existing norms."